AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- ASSAULTS (Makes assault on a railroad worker resulting in personal injury a felony.)

H8432

2026 -- H 8432
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LC006309
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- ASSAULTS

Introduced By:
Representative Matthew S. Dawson

Date Introduced:
April 10, 2026

Referred To:
House Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 11-5-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-5 entitled "Assaults" is
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hereby amended to read as follows:
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11-5-5. Assault of police officers and other officials.
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Any person who shall make an assault or battery, or both, by knowingly and willfully either
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(1) striking, or (2) spraying with a noxious chemical, commonly used as a personal defense weapon,
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including Mace and an oleoresin capsicum product or like products, a uniformed member of the
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state police or metropolitan park police, environmental police officer, state properties patrol officer,
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probation and parole officers, state government case worker or investigator, judge of the supreme,
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superior, family, district court, traffic tribunal or municipal court, deputy sheriff, city or town police
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officer or firefighter, member of the capitol police, member of campus security force of state
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colleges and universities, member of the Rhode Island airport police department, member of the
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Rhode Island fugitive task force, Rhode Island public transit authority bus driver, or on-duty
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plainclothes member of the town, city, or state police force, investigator of the department of the
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attorney general appointed pursuant to § 42-9-8.1, or member of the railroad police after proper
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identification is displayed,
or any railroad worker,
or uniformed dog officer, or out-of-state police
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officer called into Rhode Island under a cooperative agreement to provide mutual aid at the request
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of the state of Rhode Island pursuant to chapter 37 of title 42, or assistant attorney general or special
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assistant attorney general, or employees of the department of environmental management
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responsible for administrative inspections or any constable authorized by chapter 45-16 of the

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Rhode Island general law causing bodily injury while the officer or official is engaged in the
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performance of his or her duty, shall be deemed to have committed a felony, and shall be
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imprisoned not exceeding three (3) years, or fined not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500),
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or both.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- ASSAULTS
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This act would make assault on a railroad worker resulting in personal injury a felony.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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LC006309
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LC006309 - Page 3 of 3